Thursday, April 19, 2012

Gun Nut Fever and Motor Mouth Madness

Ted Nugent, aging Michigan rocker and hunting afficiando, is now being investigated by the Secret Service for saying scary violent things about President Obama and other people in government. No one should just laugh and take this lightly.

In the 1970s, Arthur Bremer planned to assassinate Richard Nixon before eventually setting his sights on George Wallace, shooting and rendering him a paraplegic. He wrote in his diary that he wanted "To do SOMETHING BOLD AND DRAMATIC , FORCEFUL & DYNAMIC, A STATEMENT of my manhood for the world to see." That could be the sentiment of any famous killer from John Wilkes Booth to John Hinckley to the Columbine Killers.Let's recall that Jared Loughner, who tried to kill Congresswoman Gabby Giffords of Arizona, wrote on an envelope"I planned ahead" and that was considered enough for federal officials to toss him into jail and determine if he was mentally ill.

Sometimes thinking and talking about assassination leads to assassination.

I hope that helps someone out there understand why Ted Nugent is under investigation. Words matter. Anyone is free to criticize the President or urge people to vote against him, but telling a crowd of gun nuts that shooting the president is the only answer, then you begin to sound like John Wilkes Booth jumping into a crowd yelling "Sic Semper Tyrannis' (Thus be to tyrants)." Lincoln actually died - remember? John Kennedy died. Bobby Kennedy, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King were all assassinated by people who planned ahead. Ronald Reagan almost died. This isn't a joke.

Obama, he’s a piece of sh-t, and I told him to suck on my machine gun … Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless b—t … Any questions? Freeeeeeeeeeeedom!!!!!”~ Ted Nugent on stage in 2007, quoted in EW's List of Ted Nugent's Most Outlandish Quotes

I'll tell you this right now: If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November. Any questions? ...(if you don't) get everybody in your lives to clean house in this vile, evil, America-hating administration, I don't even know what you're made out of....If the coyote's in your living room, pissing on your couch, it's not the coyote's fault. It's your fault for not shooting him.~ Ted Nugent in April 2012, speaking to the NRA, quoted on Yahoo News

We are aware of the incident and we are conducting appropriate follow-up.~ Secret Service Head, Brian Leary, also quoted by Yahoo News

The Romney campaign told NBC News that, contrary to Nugent’s claims, they ‘never solicited his endorsement,’ although clearly, they were pleased about it at the time.~ MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, quoting the Romney campaign Here